VALEDICTORY SPEECH 2023

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT and connection

Being an ENGLISH teacher at heart I am going to give a bit of word SMITHing a go – I am sure it will not be on the best sellers list at ROBINSONs BROOKes store- but here we go.

Thank you for coming tonight to celebrate the graduating class of 2023. I can see you’ve cleared the WHITEHEADS and trimmed your BEARDMOREs. You all look lovely- your outfits are anything but PASIC, I WOOD not expect anything less.

Enjoy your meals, sorry to my son Flynn who is here tonight- there is ITHIER chicken or beef- I know you prefer a good CURRY – promise dessert will be yum! I hope you are all ready to get on the dancefloor later to do a spin a PERROTT and be ‘puttn on the RIX!’

While it is your young people that have been the ones turning up day after day to school, it is not without the encouragement and love you have given them, through the toddler tantrums, tween torments, tumultuous teens and all that is year 12! Year 12 students, I would like you to get ALLSOPPy, not necessarily MCNEIL on bended knee but WILSONs and daughters give a HODGKISS on the WHEYMOUTH, hug or high five to anyone at your table that has seen you through part or all of this.

This evening is all about you students but we must pay homage to the other very important people in the room. These people will no longer be HARRISing you for all the MESSNER in the SLC, driven MADI by your nose PEARCEings, socks and rain coats. We may not be able to give cheers with a MCEVOY Ranch champagne, KINGSTON or ST JAMES cocktail, WILSON martini or other BATES concoctions, but I would like to AKESTER everyone to stand.

I would like you all to GIBSON love to all the teachers that have ALKEMADE your time at school a DALY achievement. There may have been a time where you saw the RATH of a staff member, but it is important that you know and appreciate that when these teachers in the room, and those that have had you since year 7, do not stop thinking about you at 3.25pm. They drive home wondering how they can engage you better the next day, while cooking dinner they are hoping you got home safe after wiping tears from your cheeks and they wake at 2am crossing everything you will be successful when they coach or MARSHALL you in the sports comp, the MEGJI mega test or production opening the next day. They really do CAREY about you always.

….please applaud all of your teachers and education support staff here and at home.

Students, you may be able to LEATCH off your families for a little longer before becoming RICHARD$ in the bank and more importantly, RICHARDS in love, life, family and friendship.

Please keep in contact as we love to hear what you do post secondary school. Here in the room we may have future TEI Tays, singing like a TAMSI or family line of GREIGs and laying down DEMOs, head chef at a ZAGAMEs, go off to the COLE mines, WARD nurses, AFL Rookies like Deven ROBERTSON, NISSEN engineers, designers for O’NEILL, MEYERS or DAVIES JONES, chemists experimenting with AGAR for JOHNSON and johnson or perhaps gold, DE SILVA or bronze athletes! I find the most

CUNNINGTON and cheeky students tend to grow and develop into future leaders and bosses, the BRASH and sassy entrepreneurs and change makers.

Travel to the corners of the earth, smell the tulips in VERHAGEN, immerse in the history of BLENNERHASSETT Island, WILK IN SON and rain in the Mediterranean and be sure to discover our own red centre.

The world is about to become very real for you. It may become MCHARDY, real and SIDERIS, working through TRANsgressions and at times feeling like you are between a RICK n hARD place. There is no quick ariba LARIBA LAY magic wand, spells or HOEKSTRA pocus like used by Elizabeth MONTGOMERY. You can’t just add some CALLEWART flowers and chant CHIDAMBARANATHAN, RENAUD-MOYSEY, GALVIN-ROWLEY, CRANWELL GRAY, – PAPADOPOULOS and hope your worries will go away - but you will rise like a PHOENIX and TAYLOR your life any way you wish. Be KHUNE, brave, smart and daring. Take every opportunity to soar like EAGLES, take risks like MACIVER and be an individual that BRIGGS it!

Be grateful

Inspire others

Love and be loved